Chapter 30
The knocking continued before14Please respect copyright.PENANALyx1WcgQ2w
Vander got off the bed, slowly walking over. He couldn’t smell much through the14Please respect copyright.PENANAABUW0r4Aec
heavy door, but there was enough to know that both Right and Left were standing14Please respect copyright.PENANA4hF7ZkLOSD
there. He wasn’t sure what they wanted. It was still many hours away until he14Please respect copyright.PENANABtpD13tb9y
had to get ready for his bout with whoever Ross had picked, so they must want14Please respect copyright.PENANABfeo83SNwR
something else. Shea jumped down from the bed to join him. Her ears were14Please respect copyright.PENANAzKZEHh1mSN
sticking up, but he knew that she would be ready to protect him if he needed14Please respect copyright.PENANAWC8Ew022cp
it.
He opened the door, slowly, poking14Please respect copyright.PENANAIwpCbE6Cu2
his head out to see the two bouncers standing there with arms folded. One of14Please respect copyright.PENANAXQZp33hlpQ
them was carrying a long, wrapped package in his hands. “I still have a few14Please respect copyright.PENANAebwsmtIjtj
hours,” Vander said. “What can I do for you?”
“Ross sent word.” Right said.14Please respect copyright.PENANAbMpilBfGZ7
“Something came up, so the fight won’t be for two more days. Make sure you are14Please respect copyright.PENANAH7zHZbIC2R
well rested.” The news was a shock. In the entire time Vander had been here,14Please respect copyright.PENANAEgeU7lAqLu
not once had the boss pushed back a fight, especially not one he had been14Please respect copyright.PENANAGN6G2LGP6w
looking forward to for years. He couldn’t help but wonder if it had something14Please respect copyright.PENANAPWY2KVuGeO
to do with him.
“Your weapon was finished.” Left14Please respect copyright.PENANAUhnYZqi8PB
thrusted the package into Vander’s arms. “Not sure what you needed something14Please respect copyright.PENANATuQPysf9d2
like this for, but just don’t break it. It was expensive.” Thanking the two of14Please respect copyright.PENANANOWeq0MgXC
them, Vander ducked back into his room.
“What did you get?” Shea14Please respect copyright.PENANAj0I0PIvhLV
jumped back onto the bed folding her paws underneath each other.
“A special sword from Kolmijr,”14Please respect copyright.PENANAt0L0zO6bXM
Vander tore off the packaging to show a scabbard sword. The sheath was ornate,14Please respect copyright.PENANArBBHgnV0mU
made from wood that had been painted black with white along the edges. “The14Please respect copyright.PENANAlrgEr1emDz
sword has a reverse blade, so I won’t hurt anyone if I come across them14Please respect copyright.PENANAg4X5Vk1KVs
outside.”
“If someone attacks you, you14Please respect copyright.PENANAJKVyYLeJnl
should strike them down, no questions asked.” Shea growled. “They blamed14Please respect copyright.PENANADrVbJboKWT
you for something you didn’t do, they deserve no mercy.”
“Unless it’s Leon, I don’t want to14Please respect copyright.PENANAZmVwCJzzQi
hurt them no matter your feelings on it.” Vander sighed. “They will be doing14Please respect copyright.PENANA7lq63FbMRO
their job, there is no reason to lose their lives for it.” He placed the sword14Please respect copyright.PENANAhyJZWZHIZd
on the bed before cupping his companion’s face in his hands. “It’s no longer us14Please respect copyright.PENANAomQyeQRUCs
against everyone else, Shea. We have friends we can count on.”
“Then where are they?” Vander14Please respect copyright.PENANAXGlx8Htd0D
didn’t have an answer for that. He kissed the top of her head before heading14Please respect copyright.PENANAH9L5VEjHDL
towards the desk against the wall.
With everything that had been14Please respect copyright.PENANAm4guNm3Azp
going on, he hadn’t had time to look at the book Peyton had been willing to14Please respect copyright.PENANAtwMmA3pMEG
kill Malcolm to get his hands on. If this book was as important as everyone14Please respect copyright.PENANAIF75IUMN94
seemed to think, why had it stayed unknown within the royal library for so14Please respect copyright.PENANADD0PjtkT54
long? And why wait until now to get it? No matter how long he thought it over,14Please respect copyright.PENANAzNsaYK2Hym
he couldn’t get to an answer that made any sort of sense. Since he had the next14Please respect copyright.PENANADdOA5aArRI
two nights off, now would be a good time to find out why.
He removed the book from the14Please respect copyright.PENANA0trNy1OEmD
hidden drawer within the desk. Only two people knew it was there and with Shea14Please respect copyright.PENANAqCp09Ns6gu
guarding the room, there was no way Ross would have come in there uninvited.14Please respect copyright.PENANAE3w0hWx47R
Friend or not, that would have been a one-way trip to the undertaker.
The book itself seemed to be very14Please respect copyright.PENANAy0aFOYQcgd
old. The blackened leather was beginning to crack while some of the pages were14Please respect copyright.PENANA2WPkbMZkGz
stuck a dark brown from years of sitting on dusty bookshelves. It was rather14Please respect copyright.PENANAqKPsFROcv6
innocuous, if someone hadn’t been looking for it, there was a huge chance that14Please respect copyright.PENANAriO0TmvrFi
they never would have found it. Vander hesitated before opening it. This was14Please respect copyright.PENANATyBy4b7sCj
something Malcolm had been killed for; what mysteries would be hidden within?
The first thing he saw was a14Please respect copyright.PENANA4Vg7rcANdp
folded piece of paper inside of the front cover. Confusingly it had his name on14Please respect copyright.PENANAOQtnDDkK4W
it with the former King’s handwriting on the front. Frowning, Vander carefully14Please respect copyright.PENANAMyo5egLRL8
removed the letter and unfolded it to read the contents:
Vander,
I14Please respect copyright.PENANAfHZWqkbHNG
am writing this letter shortly before my son’s, and your friend’s, wedding. If14Please respect copyright.PENANAjIFhq3zDLd
you find this letter, then my life has been cut short and my plans have gone14Please respect copyright.PENANAZeTxRNRCnu
off the rails. Being the Ma’akti of Humjir has its challenges, but being able14Please respect copyright.PENANAGA8GCy9rCA
to see the future and doing nothing to change it tops the list. Just know you14Please respect copyright.PENANArfhJ9K8l6D
have everything you need to find those responsible for my death and bring them14Please respect copyright.PENANAAYkSAzIwTO
to justice.
In14Please respect copyright.PENANA90vf3oXFbG
this book you will find some answers you need, but the rest you will need to14Please respect copyright.PENANAmQ1sJiLvL5
find on your own. I am sorry I couldn’t do more and I’m sorry that you must do14Please respect copyright.PENANAE5OI2rJvIe
this alone. He will listen to you; you just have to ask. Good luck kid, despite14Please respect copyright.PENANAJ28uoI7sCu
the time we had together I wish we had more, but I know you will do everything14Please respect copyright.PENANAwxwEQkcBYS
you can to protect our home. You always have.
After14Please respect copyright.PENANAQsYOnbGjEn
you read, see Humi. He alone knows that you are innocent, and he will help you.
Good14Please respect copyright.PENANA0dfXCPTtaS
luck!
-Malcolm
Tears14Please respect copyright.PENANACsexjGKooV
splashed down on the letter, but Vander quickly brushed them away. He knew he14Please respect copyright.PENANAbsPEbsDej0
should be angry at Malcolm for not letting him know ahead of time, but he knew14Please respect copyright.PENANAnkjAmbziRN
that if he had been told, he would have done everything in his power to keep14Please respect copyright.PENANAn1UaWyv8ot
the king’s death from happening. That didn’t mean he had to like it, however.14Please respect copyright.PENANAiQGtwptHHK
And if Humi had known, that would have meant Malcolm trusted him enough with14Please respect copyright.PENANASSnGbW2xNa
his secret, but did that mean Vander should trust him as well? There was only14Please respect copyright.PENANAk6SrVn6pOq
one way to find out, but he would have to wait a couple more hours until it was14Please respect copyright.PENANAKIgcxiZycL
dark. Until then, he would read.
He14Please respect copyright.PENANAmYUgl6bN43
skipped past the creation myth of the first couple of chapters. Everyone in14Please respect copyright.PENANATUufg9bsOj
Eluvia knew about it, they were taught when they were small about the Gods that14Please respect copyright.PENANAQrizEWShz0
ruled their lives. Most of them anyway. He wanted to know more about Unna, the14Please respect copyright.PENANADbEywVQB25
one who had changed the course of his life. He wanted to know about the demon,14Please respect copyright.PENANAPUcouSLEc9
what he could do to keep it from taking control.
Tragically14Please respect copyright.PENANApnhiKL1dEG
there wasn’t much in her section. He shouldn’t have been so disappointed, he14Please respect copyright.PENANAdq6TLQmAjs
knew that, but it still hurt. Other than Aubum, Unna was the most secretive of14Please respect copyright.PENANAgin2BR3yIa
the Gods, preferring to toy with humanity and their emotions. There was no way14Please respect copyright.PENANADbMC8Ae5ZO
that she would spill her secrets on anyone who would ask and most of those she14Please respect copyright.PENANAgiAoCjanb1
chose to take her power didn’t live long anyway, but it was still worth14Please respect copyright.PENANAqAZ5IwFVJh
remembering what was there in case he needed it.
Unna’s gifts are not for the faint of heart. She14Please respect copyright.PENANAVuBhttOCKU
gives her Ma’akti the power of the animals they bond with the strength of the14Please respect copyright.PENANARDB3gUAseB
bear, senses of the wolf, or sight of the hawk, but it doesn’t come without14Please respect copyright.PENANAMaINlsoeto
cost. In each of her Ma’akti lives a more animalistic version of themselves, a14Please respect copyright.PENANAdg7r7h5Gj6
demon as many called it. They embody what the person would be if they didn’t14Please respect copyright.PENANANVZaRxVSVf
have morality and lived by the laws of the wild. Many can resist the urges of14Please respect copyright.PENANA5lJcBMXgsR
their demon for years or even decades, but after awhile the walls in their mind14Please respect copyright.PENANAEYoPEEkF3T
crack under the pressure. They go into a trace then kill without question. Many14Please respect copyright.PENANAdEkLNFVN4z
are killed once people know what they have done and have many centuries, people14Please respect copyright.PENANAYZIpZLnYy8
preemptively killed those chosen as soon as they found out causing many to hide14Please respect copyright.PENANAfvWg8LbSOZ
their true nature until the end comes.
It is difficult to explain why these things14Please respect copyright.PENANAlJahbc9ovr
happen, why some can hold out longer than others. Many believe that it is based14Please respect copyright.PENANAzeAgoBH9PG
on Unna’s will. If she likes you, she makes it easier to resist. If she14Please respect copyright.PENANAqwSJcGLIU2
doesn’t, well, you wind up her dinner. Some believe that will is the driving14Please respect copyright.PENANAaPko3BLeM5
force behind resisting the urges, but I’m not sure if that is the case. It will14Please respect copyright.PENANA6HSadjFzWY
be a true testament for someone to live more than two decades after being14Please respect copyright.PENANAJLQ0dnWioT
chosen. As of now that hasn’t happened, but I am hoping at some point it will.14Please respect copyright.PENANAeOvu4ZBXni
These chosen can be a force for good in protecting us if Darkness ever makes14Please respect copyright.PENANARXCtyyjH24
her way back into our world.
Something of interest I have discovered after14Please respect copyright.PENANAj5mn1R5XNE
years of research. Each of Unna’s Ma’akti has something called a mate. Unlike14Please respect copyright.PENANA9jQddhzwNQ
today’s term where someone’s mate is the person they spend their life with and14Please respect copyright.PENANA1Q18YMW4IV
raise a family together, an Unna’s chosen’s mate is something a little more14Please respect copyright.PENANAA1ul6PWbsF
primal. It tethers them to humanity, soothing the demon enough for them to get14Please respect copyright.PENANAwxWjk8BQ4B
a handle on who they are and who they want to be. It’s even stronger when their14Please respect copyright.PENANA0Tw6E5IyHL
“mate” is another Ma’akti. They can feel an instant attraction to one another,14Please respect copyright.PENANASDAeNUoJqB
as if fate was guiding them. It’s only happened once before, if it can be14Please respect copyright.PENANA6AQ1FaObyd
believed. The only one in myth was Ritoru, Unna’s own mate. A large white wolf14Please respect copyright.PENANA96UmsJO1hp
capable of killing anyone who dared messed with her. Quite a match.
Vander14Please respect copyright.PENANANB75HbNaW8
leaned back into the chair after rereading that part several times. The writer14Please respect copyright.PENANAj7nfKJVOhR
said it had only happened once, if mythology could be believed, but if that was14Please respect copyright.PENANAEaNpQiZlMe
true, how did Eliza know about it? Were things taught differently in Bricen14Please respect copyright.PENANAmkzMfl8L7R
than they were here? But at least now he had his answer. The creature14Please respect copyright.PENANAXebXz25OZt
whispering in his ear was his more animalistic side, the one that just wants to14Please respect copyright.PENANArnR9JmPr82
kill and survive. He would have to fight with everything he had to keep it at14Please respect copyright.PENANAHm222ggBc0
bay, but what would happen if he was forced to give in? It was something he14Please respect copyright.PENANAyInLtPXznD
really didn’t want to think about. Shea must have sensed his distress because14Please respect copyright.PENANA0zAwfYRIeZ
she walked over to him placing her head on his leg. He rubbed the top of her14Please respect copyright.PENANADthDz9hOJU
head deep in thought. Perhaps Humi would have the answers he needed.
“Do14Please respect copyright.PENANAeGCTyHE4Dc
you fancy a stroll?” He looked down at Shea.
“Do14Please respect copyright.PENANArC2zihpqDx
you mean it?” Her14Please respect copyright.PENANAesVMhwMh4J
tail was wagging as she looked up at him. The only time she went out was to use14Please respect copyright.PENANAUAjuS0wJdW
the bathroom, other than that she was forced to be in this room. Someone like14Please respect copyright.PENANABGOmiubM6M
her should be stuck behind the walls of some warehouse, she should be free to14Please respect copyright.PENANAmipfe7u7uc
explore the streets. Since it was late enough and people were inside, he14Please respect copyright.PENANA3MFlnugSzq
figured why not allow her some freedom?
“I14Please respect copyright.PENANAoCNfPUYmEy
do.” He nodded. He stood up from the desk, making sure to take the black book14Please respect copyright.PENANArPjxMYEok8
with him when he got changed. Regardless of this place being under Ross’14Please respect copyright.PENANAzp0thKubRx
protection, he didn’t trust the man not to go through his belongings once he14Please respect copyright.PENANA7JkLtXetAv
and Shea were gone. He would do whatever he could to get one over on anyone he14Please respect copyright.PENANASxJanOvZUA
thought he could use, no matter their position.
Vander14Please respect copyright.PENANAmMYgiVVu9C
got dressed in his outfit he had used to cut down the Serpents the other night.14Please respect copyright.PENANALfgoOwqU28
He had been up late cleaning all the blood of it then allowing it to dry. He14Please respect copyright.PENANA3IDonOcBXG
didn’t want anyone to question him because it would be bad for all involved. He14Please respect copyright.PENANAe6cQKEJ4LK
reapplied some of the dye to his hair before strapping his sword onto his14Please respect copyright.PENANAKAydy0ZvJV
baldric. The two of them walked over to the window that overlooked an alley. He14Please respect copyright.PENANAKbQBUR5sN2
pushed his hood up to cover his face then jumped, landing heavily on the14Please respect copyright.PENANA3bU1dQhyPE
cobblestone road. Shea landed lightly behind him.
The14Please respect copyright.PENANAWpsNK40zLz
Orange Fox was booming tonight. Patrons were disappointed that a fight wasn’t14Please respect copyright.PENANA0Rdi90AhKb
happening so they were drowning their sorrows in booze, gambling, and it was14Please respect copyright.PENANAKrZpizLicJ
likely that more than a few of Ross’ girls would get a hefty payday once14Please respect copyright.PENANArKuUrnR4am
tonight was done. Right and Left were guarding the door dealing with people14Please respect copyright.PENANAVAhxGzEjoX
wanting to get in, so they weren’t paying attention to the alley. Giving an14Please respect copyright.PENANAUdO8cXoKbe
all-clear signal, Vander moved out from the shadows.
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For14Please respect copyright.PENANAO7ggIKW1wm
tonight he said goodnight to the Southern District. Hopefully by the time he14Please respect copyright.PENANAHx1ibglxdT
came back he would find the answers he needed. If not, then he just might be14Please respect copyright.PENANAJ5kEAHGnhg
doomed.